Posts Tagged Mozilla

Google’s Chromecast dongle has been quite popular among the masses, largely due to its pricing. And it seems like Mozilla wants to leverage some of the demand by launching an HDMI dongle of its own. GigaOM has managed to access images of this dongle, showing a white colored unit, quite similar to the Chromecast.

But given that it will be running Firefox OS out of the box, things will be substantially different as far as functionality is concerned. It is said that the device will be capable of running Android apps in addition to the slowly building library of Firefox OS applications. So essentially, this Mozilla dongle will be more developer friendly than the Chromecast.

Bear in mind that this is still a leak, so there’s no proper confirmation yet. But leaks like these are usually an indication of what’s to come in the future. There’s no word on the exact availability date of this dongle, but we don’t think it’s too far away. You can check out a video showing the functioning of this Firefox OS based HDMI dongle below.

News has surfaced that Mozilla is working on device to compete with Google’s Chromecast and could be close to releasing the device. Powered by the Firefox OS, it appears the new streaming media device will function in a manner very similar to Chromecast even to the point of being able to work with some apps that were designed for Chromecast.

At this point the device has no name and it is unclear who will manufacture the device, if it is even limited to a single manufacturer. Some prototypes have already been produced, as seen in the video below, but it appears the company that produced the prototypes will not be the final manufacturer. Meanwhile, a Mozilla spokesperson says “Firefox OS is an open platform freely available for any company to build on top of without restriction. This means companies can experiment with different form factors that run Firefox OS” in response to an inquiry about a manufacturing partner. This seems to hint at Mozilla releasing the code and specifications and leaving it up to manufacturers to put it on their hardware.

In addition to apps designed to run on mobile devices, including those powered by Android, Mozilla reportedly has been working on adding casting capabilities to their Firefox browser. The overall sentiment seems to be that whatever Firefox produces will be more open than what Google allows via their Google Cast SDK.

Now that the existence of the device has leaked out, to the extent that a video showing how it works has been released, we can expect to see more rumors and leaks surface in the coming weeks. Of course, some of the information we’ll be looking for will be pricing and availability information.

Nearly a year after Gary Kovacs announced he’s stepping down as Mozilla’s CEO, and the company’s board of directors has finally appointed a new leader: former CTO Brendan Eich. Eich has been involved with Firefox from the very beginning, having invented JavaScript back in 1995 when he was an early developer for Netscape Navigator. As Mozilla’s new CEO, Eich’s not only responsible for Firefox as a web browser, but also as a mobile operating system. To that end, Eich has brought on Li Gong, who’s been instrumental in building up Firefox OS, as Mozilla’s new COO. Indeed, in an interview with CNET, Eich has said that Firefox OS is his highest priority. His goal right now is to get Firefox-powered handsets in as many hands as possible, especially the $25 ones. As the company isn’t even ready to sell its handsets in the US just yet however, Eich certainly has his work cut out for him.

Spreadtrum certainly isn’t a household name in the US, but Mozilla is less concerned with brand recognition than it is with delivering an ultra-cheap handset. The two companies have announced a new partnership that will see Spreadtrum building reference designs for Firefox OS phones with a target price of $25. (And no, we’re not missing a zero there.) The heart of the effort is the SC6821, a Cortex A5-based chipset that supports WCDMA and EDGE networks, but not LTE. The platform includes WiFi, Bluetooth, cameras and FM radio, though touchscreen support appears to top out at 3.5-inch HVGA panels. The lack of 4G connectivity, older CPU design and low screen resolutions clearly mark this as a low-end initiative, but its one that will give it a major leg up in emerging markets like India where feature phones still rule supreme.

We knew the Open C was coming before the start of Mobile World Congress because, well, ZTE spilled the beans on it early. And here at Mozilla’s press event, we’re finally getting a first look at the diminutive 4-inch device and the 1.3 build of Firefox OS it runs. But before you judge its modest specs too harshly, bear in mind these FFOS devices are geared towards emerging markets and are priced accordingly.

Owing to its budget nature, the Open C sports a chunky plastic build and, from the looks of the two models we saw on display, will be available in Mozilla’s two signature colors: orange and blue. The handset’s equipped with a 4-inch WVGA display and runs FFOS 1.3 atop a dual-core 1.2GHz Snapdragon 200 with 512MB of accompanying RAM. There’s also a 2-megapixel fixed focus camera on back and 1,200mAh battery powering it.

Telefonica and Deutsche Telekom launching 12 combined new markets in the first half of 2014

At Mobile World Congress in Barcelona today we’ve been spending a little time with the folks from Mozilla, getting an update on the performance and future of Firefox OS. During the presentation, Mozilla COO Jay Sullivan, announced a partnership with Spreadtrum which will provide chipsets for $25 Firefox OS smartphones. You read that right. Just $25.

Sure, such devices may not meet the requirements many of us look for in a smartphone, but Mozilla isn’t targetting us. This new bar in the entry-level smartphone space Mozilla says is to help people get online, to ditch their feature phones once and for all.

Additional news on the future of the fledgling platform sees 12 new markets coming online in the first half of 2014. Telefonica will be launching Firefox OS in Argentina, Costa Rica, El Salvador, Ecuador, Germany, Guatemala, Nicaragua, and Panama, while Deutsche Telekom will take it to Croatia, the Czech Republic, Macedonia, and Montenegro.

It’s been a year since we first got a glimpse of Firefox OS at MWC 2013, and unsurprisingly we’re already seeing some more models show up once again in Barcelona. This time around, Alcatel is making a strong statement to Mozilla about its commitment level; the company’s showing off a grand total of four devices, including a tablet concept. All still under the Fire brand, the trio of smartphones range from a budget-minded 3.5-inch device to a nicer quad-core model with 4.5-inch qHD display and LTE.

First, let’s tackle the latter. The Fire S (which stands for ‘speed’) is the company’s first Firefox device with LTE built-in, and while we’re not looking at top-of-the-line specs here, they’re certainly better than most we’ve seen on a smartphone bearing Mozilla’s B2G project. The handset features OS 1.3, a 4.5-inch qHD display, 8MP rear camera with a 2MP front-facing cam, a quad-core 1.2GHz CPU and even NFC.

The other two in the trio aren’t especially drool-worthy, but they’re still notable for potential users in emerging markets — obviously a rather large demographic for Mozilla. The Fire E (which stands for ‘elegant’) has the same 4.5-inch qHD display as the S, but it uses a dual-core 1.2GHz processor, 5MP rear camera and VGA front-facing cam. It also doesn’t feature LTE, as the S does. The C (which stands for ‘cost-conscious’) has a 3.5-inch HVGA display, dual-core 1.2GHz processor, VGA camera and other basic goodies.

Almost everyone these days know about browsing the web, but not all of those are actualy familiar with a web browser. For that subset of web surfers, Mozilla is introducing the Directory Tiles initiative to give them a clue by suggesting sites that have paid to be in the spotlight.

The way this works is that certain sites will be be shelling out some unknown amount in order to be featured in Firefox’s New Tab page. Currently, the tiles on this page are populated by recently or frequently visited sites, determined by certain algorithms that Firefox has set up. But in the case of a newly installed Firefox, that page will be quite empty except for Firefox’s own link. Fearing that new or first time web browser users will fear the blank page, Mozilla decided to help give them ideas.

This is definitely not the first time that Mozilla has accepted monetary compensation for some sort of preferential treatment as it also has sponsorship program for its default search engine configuration. It believes that neither that nor this new initiative goes against any of its principles and mission, which is growing the Web. And growing the Web involves bringing content to the Web, and bringing users to those content.

Once Directory Tiles is ready, it will launch first on the desktop, to be followed by Firefox for Android and Firefox OS. The situation isn’t as dreary as it may seem. Directory Tiles will only be active on newly installed or reinstalled Firefox browsers. Once Firefox has enough data on the user’s browsing history and preferences, which usually takes around a month or so, Firefox will then gradually show less of those sponsored sites.

Mozilla already has a presence in the Android ecosystem via its Firefox browser however the company wants to expand this further by offering a home screen launcher. During the InContext Conference held at Terra, San Francisco, Mozilla and EverythingMe revealed an early version of an Android launcher which is called the Firefox Launcher.

The launcher which is still in beta version is a contextual app launcher which means that unlike regular launchers which show you the same apps every time you access the device it instead shows different views depending on the time of day or other factors.

It basically tries to provide a more personalized experience. If a consumer for instance regularly checks the weather, updates social media, and check on calendar schedules early in the morning then these are the apps that will appear in the Homescreen just before breakfast. Later in the day other apps may replace these such as music, email, or even game apps.

One interesting feature of the Firefox Launcher is that it has a search bar on top where a query can be typed and the relevant app will be displayed including the apps that are already installed in the device. It is also able to provide a download link of the app in case you might be interested to download it. Links to websites that it provides which you click will open using the Firefox browser.

From what is initially shown the early build of the launcher allows apps to be grouped into categories and contacts can be pinned on the screen for easy access. EverythingMe revealed that the app will become available for download in the coming weeks.

In a blog post of Mozilla the company announced that

“We’re working together to deliver the best mobile Web experience to people everywhere – regardless of location, platform or device. We are happy to expand our work together with this new product to give people more smart, easy and innovative ways to personalize their Web experience and meet their needs in any context.”

“Firefox Launcher for Android makes it easy to discover the content you want in any moment and is optimized for the way you use your phone. The app integrates the contextual adaptive app search from EverythingMe with the Firefox for Android Web browser to offer users a personalized and customizable Web experience that is fun and intuitive”

Just on the heels of coming out of beta, EverythingMe is now making news again but this time with a different visage. Mozilla and the Israeli startup has just revealed Firefox Launcher, which, for all intents and purpose, is practically the same smart launcher.

Smart or context-based launchers are becoming the fad today, with Aviate being the latest to make the news after being acquired by Yahoo for a yet unknown ultimate goal. These launchers might present things quite differently but they all function quite similarly. Each and everyone of them is designed to predict what you want or need, based on what it learns from your own smartphone habits.

In that sense, Firefox Launcher, as is EverythingMe, isn’t that different from the crowd. What Firefox Launcher does quite uniquely is in the realm of search, a subtle nod to Google’s territory. Looking for items using the launcher’s search bar will not only give you related apps and web results, it can even dig in through some of those apps to take you directly to the related content, instead of the apps’ default landing screen. Firefox Launcher even has its own concept of content cards for providing news and information, again bearing a resemblance to Google’s own product.

What Firefox Launcher then brings to the table, as far as EverythingMe is concerned, is brand recognition. The name of Mozilla and Firefox slapped on the launcher is sure to bring attention to the product, though actual success is yet to be seen. Luckily for EverythingMe, its deal with Mozilla includes revenue sharing so that any money that Mozilla earns via Firefox Launcher will benefit it as well. Unlike EverythingMe, however, Firefox Launcher is still at an early testing stage and isn’t even available for beta testing.

We hope you haven’t had your fill of adaptive Android home screens, because Mozilla is throwing its hat into the increasingly crowded ring. The company has just offered a sneak peek at Firefox Launcher for Android, a front end that revolves around its mobile browser. The upcoming software mates Firefox with EverythingMe’s context-sensitive app search, personalizing both your web surfing and your software in one shot. Unfortunately, you’ll have to wait a while to know exactly how this combination works; Mozilla doesn’t plan to reveal more details about Firefox Launcher until it’s ready to start beta testing at an unspecified point in the future.

Today Mozilla showed off something that seems like it’s an amazing addition to its software portfolio: a Firefox Android homescreen launcher. That would be huge news, if it weren’t for the fact that Mozilla invested in the promising launcher Everything.me (later rebranded EverythingMe) in November of 2012, eventually making its search-focused interface a core part of the Firefox mobile OS, which is just now getting off the ground. Now Mozilla and EverythingMe are showing off a tweaked version of that app, rebranded as Firefox Launcher for Android.

Mozilla may have their own operating system to work on, but they know that the eyeballs are mostly on Android these days. Since eyeballs mean money, they're still all-in with the idea of pushing out their apps and services on our little platform.

Today, at the inaugural InContext conference, they showed what may be their most ambitious idea yet — the Firefox launcher. Branded atop the new EverythingMe launcher which came out of beta today, the Firefox launcher plans to "give people more smart, easy and innovative ways to personalize their Web experience and meet their needs in any context."

What they're talking about of course, is content discovery. The contextual engine behind EverythingMe should blend well with Mozilla's deep hooks into the web, and there's a good chance this app will stand out in the crowd of new launchers that help you decide what you see on your screen.

Mozilla says they'll keep us updated while they finish development, and soon we'll be able to have a go at this one ourselves. We're always interested in what Mozilla can do, so this one is something we're looking forward to.

It’s true that CES is primarily a hardware show and Mozilla is primarily a software company, but the team behind Firefox no doubt has plenty to discuss — including, most likely, some hardware, too. Join us as we talk to COO Jay Sullivan about the browser wars, online tracking and Firefox OS’s place in the world of smartphones.

January 7, 2014 4:00:00 PM EST

Follow all the latest CES 2014 news at our event hub, and check out our full stage schedule here.

As it turns out, Mozilla’s Panasonic smart TV deal is just the start of its Firefox OS plans for this year. The web pioneer has just unveiled a tablet developer program that will give dedicated contributors both reference hardware (initially from Foxconn) and other resources; they’ll help create the tablet-native Firefox OS in the same communal fashion that Mozilla builds its desktop browser. The firm tells us that it wants to start the program shortly after CES, with a goal of finishing its slate interface sometime this year.

The company is also providing the first details of ZTE’s second-generation FFOS smartphones. The Open family is expanding to include two upgraded models, the Open C and the dual-core Open II; there isn’t much more to say at this point, although we should learn more in the near future. If you’re looking for something more tangible, you’ll be happy to hear that VIA Technologies has released a version of its tiny APC Rock desktop PC with Mozilla’s OS pre-installed. The bare system is available by itself for $59, while those who want it in a recycled case (Paper) will pay $99.

It looks like most folks in the US have a long wait ahead of them before they can take Firefox OS for a spin. Despite ZTE’s plan to design a bigger and better phone for release in the country in 2014, Mozilla exec Mitchell Baker tells CNET that there are currently no plans to launch in the US just yet. Why? Well, at the OpenMobile Summit in San Francisco, Baker emphasized that the company’s focused on marketing to developing nations, as it’s a space largely ignored by mobile heavyweights Apple and Google. That said, several Firefox OS phones (primarily for developers) were sold stateside via eBay in the past, so we bet you can find one for sale if you’re truly desperate. Just make sure to switch on your scam detector before diving into the secondary market.

It looks like most folks in the US have a long wait ahead of them before they can take Firefox OS for a spin. Despite ZTE’s plan to design a bigger and better phone for release in the country in 2014, Mozilla exec Mitchell Baker tells CNET that there are currently no plans to launch in the US just …

Maybe this is Mozilla’s retort to Google’s Chromecast, maybe it isn’t. Either way, the end result certainly looks similar. Details are scarce, but an enigmatic Google+ photo shared by insider Mark Finkle clearly reveals some sort of wireless tab mirroring between a Nexus 4 and a Roku box. We’re going to hazard a guess that it’s being orchestrated through the web, rather than merely being based on WiFi Direct or a similar device-to-device protocol. In the same manner as Chromecast or Apple’s AirPlay, this could allow the Firefox-running smartphone to be used independently from what’s shown in the display — so, for example, it could work as a keyboard or a remote control at the same time as feeding content. Anyway, there’s a limit to how much we can glean from a single pic (could that be a DVD-VHS combo player on the shelf?), so we’ve asked Mozilla for a bit more detail and will update this post if we hear back.

Update: Mozilla has confirmed that it is indeed at working on a second-screen solution for Firefox on a range of devices:

“We are conducting some experiments around second-screen support with a number of devices. But this is at investigation stage and we have nothing to announce at this time.”

Now that polished versions of Firefox 24 are out the door, Mozilla has released the beta version of Firefox 25 — and it’s quite a hefty upgrade for Android users. The new mobile build adds guest browsing, which lets friends borrow your device without seeing your bookmarks and history. As soon as a guest signs out, your data comes back. Beta testers also get a mixed content blocker, support for add-ons with page actions and an option to set pictures as contact photos or wallpapers. If you like the idea of sharing Android gadgets with others, you can grab Firefox 25 through Google Play.

Mozilla has just released Firefox 24, and this refresh lavishes most of its attention on the Android version. The updated mobile browser enables WebRTC support, letting Android users conduct web-based video chats without a plugin. These surfers can also share browser tabs between NFC-capable devices, launch a preferred sharing app from the main menu, read in Braille and enable a Night mode in Reader. Desktop users aren’t completely left out of the upgrade frenzy, however. Firefox 24 lets them quickly close all tabs to the right of a selected tab, drag out chat windows and use the stealthier scrollbars in OS X Lion and newer. If you’re intrigued by any of the new Firefox clients, you can grab the edition you need at one of the source links.

Firefox has certainly taken some pretty huge steps since Mozilla initially announced its “Phone for Apps” program back in May. Still, the browser maker knows there’s a lot to be done before the mobile OS becomes more of a household entity. To help it achieve that, Mozilla’s launching phase two of the “Phone for Apps” initiative, offering developers a Firefox OS device — in this case the Geeksphone Keon — in exchange for porting their HTML5 apps to the young platform. More specifically, this qualifies devs who have “already built and shipped an HTML5 web app and have the time now to port that app to the new Firefox OS.” Is this you? Then here’s what’s left to do: click the source below to peruse the rest of the guidelines, fill out the application and, if you’re amongst the chosen group, expect a confirmation to reach your inbox sometime thereafter.

Firefox OS has an uphill battle to impress consumers, and Mozilla is hoping that the social app store it’s developing will be the thing that sets it apart. Marketplace designer Liu Liu took to Mozilla’s blog to discuss the team’s decision to focus on “the feed,” which appears to share content much like a social media site. In this brave new Marketplace, users would be able to customize their homepages, receive personalized suggestions, like specific apps and view download statistics. To create a friendlier environment, Mozilla has also included profile photos so you can put a face to the name behind the apps. Liu was careful to point out that the Marketplace prototype is, for the time being, a concept, not a product, and it’ll certainly undergo several rounds of revisions before it’s ready to unleash upon the world. To learn more, read Liu’s blog post at the source or check out the video after the break.

Before you know it, you’ll be enjoying a cleaner, shinier Firefox UI on Android — but not before Mozilla gets the more adventurous to test it out. The brand-spanking new interface merges the Start Page and the Awesomescreen, which is what you see after tapping on the URL bar. Thus, it will house your history, bookmarks, reading list and most visited websites in one place. While Mozilla UI engineer Lucas Rocha calls it the “biggest UI change in Firefox for Android” since the app was released, the update isn’t quite yet ready. If you’re unafraid of testing unstable releases, however, you can take the new UI for a spin via Firefox Nightly — Mozilla’s launchpad for new features. Everyone else, feel free to head past the break for a comparison image of the current and future interfaces.

It’s been a busy couple months for the folks over at Mozilla. The company rolled out a new logo, launched the first Firefox OS handset and shipped version 23 of its popular web browser. Still, Mozilla shows no signs of slowing down — it just announced a new version of Firefox for Android Beta, which is ready for download and testing. The update brings a raft of new features and improvements, including WebRTC support for real-time web communications, a new Reader and Reading List with enhanced functionality, NFC Bump to share URLs on compatible phones, a Quickshare menu to share content with other apps and additional languages (Catalan-Spanish, British-English and Swedish) for a total of 24. Moreover, Firefox Beta for Windows, OS X and Linux gains a tweaked Browser Console to help web developers — phew!

In between the packed schedule at Computex earlier today, our brethren over at Engadget Chinese managed to sneak into the joint event held by Foxconn and Mozilla. As you may have already heard, the former company has signed on to become the 19th member of the latter’s Firefox OS alliance, and it’s already working on at least five devices. That said, it’s unclear whether these include the first-ever Firefox OS tablet (pictured above) that was present at the event. And no, we weren’t allowed to touch this mysterious device.

The two groups will also cooperate on the software side, and Mozilla took the opportunity to indicate the healthy growth in its app ecosystem, with well-known apps like AccuWeather and SoundCloud jumping on board. But will that be enough? We’ll see how the developing countries react to the first Firefox OS phones when they come out in the summer. Press release after the break.

In a Chinese invitation we received earlier today, Foxconn Technology Group and Mozilla confirmed an upcoming press conference that will detail and make their Firefox OS partnership official. The event will take place in Taipei next Monday (just a few days before Computex truly kicks off), and it’ll see Mozilla welcome the 19th partner to its Firefox OS alliance. There isn’t much meat in the email, though we did spot a little hint in the rundown that says one or more “latest” Firefox OS products will be displayed. Whatever they may be, we shall keep an eye out for them as soon as we land in Terry Gou’s back garden next week.

In a Chinese invitation we received earlier today, Foxconn Technology Group and Mozilla confirmed an upcoming press conference that will detail and make their Firefox OS partnership official. The event will take place in Taipei next Monday (just a few days before Computex truly kicks off), and it’ll see Mozilla welcome the 19th partner to its Firefox OS alliance. There isn’t much meat in the email, though we did spot a little hint in the rundown that says one or more “latest” Firefox OS products will be displayed. Whatever they may be, we shall keep an eye out for them as soon as we land in Terry Gou’s back garden next week.

In a Chinese invitation we received earlier today, Foxconn Technology Group and Mozilla confirmed an upcoming press conference that will detail and make their Firefox OS partnership official. The event will take place in Taipei next Monday (just a few days before Computex truly kicks off), and it’ll see Mozilla welcome the 19th partner to its Firefox OS alliance. There isn’t much meat in the email, though we did spot a little hint in the rundown that says one or more new Firefox OS products will be displayed. Whatever they may be, we shall keep an eye out for them as soon as we land in Terry Gou’s back garden next week.

The latest partner of Mozilla in making Firefox OS devices is none other than Foxconn. The company which is popularly known for making Apple devices is set to unveil this coming June 3 a new Firefox powered device which is also the date when its partnership with Mozilla becomes official.

A press conference is being scheduled on June 3 in Taipei to officially welcome Foxconn as one of the companies to join Mozilla in developing Firefox OS devices. While few details are provided about the event there’s a hint that one or more Firefox powered devices will be presented.

An even slim possibility is the chance that a tablet using Firefox is going to be announced during the press conference but this is still purely speculation. We will get solid information about this once the event starts.

As of now the only device using Mozilla’s OS that is readily available in the market is Geeksphone’s Keon. Other manufacturers such as ZTE, Huawei, LG and Alcatel have also announced their upcoming models on this platform which will be launched early next year.

The Firefox operating system is an open source Linux based OS designed to be used on smartphones and tablets. Its main feature is that it allows HTML 5 apps to directly communicate with the hardware using JavaScript and web APIs.

Right now from what we are seeing it seems that Firefox OS devices are targeting the low end market. So far the devices that have been announced don’t come with high end specs but this may change down the line. It’s a good idea that the target is the low end budget market since there are only a few good models in this area and the Firefox powered devices will definitely become one of the best in this area.